The present invention relates to a new and improved construction of controlled deflection roll of the type comprising a stationary support and a substantially tubular shaped, flexible roll shell rotatable about such support.
In particular, the controlled deflection roll of the present invention--also sometimes referred to in the art as roll with bending compensation--possesses a plurality of pressure elements arranged in a pressure plane and supporting the roll shell. The pressure elements are movable in such pressure plane relative to the stationary support and exert a pressure force. The roll shell is fixedly retained at its ends against movements perpendicular to the pressure plane.
Controlled deflection rolls of this type are known, for instance from the commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,802,044 and 3,885,283 and also from U.S. Pat. No. Re. 26,219. The prior art rolls, wherein the pressure elements are in the form of hydrostatic pistons or punches, ledges or shoes or the like, serve for forming a uniform pressure force, or a pressure force which changes in a desired manner, at the rolling mills or similar devices.
During the rolling of paper webs or textile webs, or at different types of printing devices for printing such type webs and the like, there oftentimes exist the requirement for so-called tentering or stretching rolls, by means of which there can be spread-out the web and tensioned in its transverse direction. Up to the present it was necessary for this purpose to provide special stretching rolls apart from the pressure rolls at the individual devices.